1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure generally relates to building construction materials and methods, and more particularly relates to composite fiber cement cladding with improved properties and methods of installing such material.
2. Description of the Related Art
The future of building construction is moving towards providing an insulated, energy efficient building envelope. In particular, there is an increasing demand for energy efficient residential and commercial constructions which require walls having greater building insulation ratings. The R-value of building insulation is a measure of its resistance to transferring heat or thermal energy. Greater R-values indicate more effective building insulation. The higher the R-value of the insulation of a building, the easier it is to maintain a temperature differential between the interior and the exterior of the building over an extended period of time. One approach to improving the energy efficiency of a building structure is to add insulation to the exterior walls. Adding additional wall insulation, however, can drive up the cost of construction as it requires additional material and installation labor. Adding additional exterior wall insulation can adversely affect the aesthetics, water management, and other properties of the wall structure assembly, as well as impact the design of other components of the wall.
Foamed material is one type of material that can be used to insulate building structures. While foamed material has been used as an insulation material in certain building construction, it has not been used as efficiently and effectively as it could be. For example, foam sheathing or backing boards have been placed between the framing and fiber cement exterior sidings of a building structure to provide additional insulation. The foam sheathing or backing boards are typically tacked or fastened to the framing prior to installation of the exterior cladding. To reduce the amount of air exchanged between the inside and the outside of the building structure, the seams of the foam sheathing or backing boards often need to be sealed or taped. As such, the installation of the foam sheathing requires additional processing steps. The foam installation may also create aesthetic issues with the exterior siding, such as causing a wavy appearance as when siding is installed over deformations in the foam where fasteners compress the underlying foam.
Additionally, in high-wind regions, sidings are frequently blown off walls of building structures. To improve wind resistance, shims are often used to create a uniform and flat surface for attachment of the sidings so as to reduce gaps that could catch the wind. Face nailing instead of blind nailing is also recommended, particularly for fiber cement sidings in regions with high wind speed. However, these existing methods for enhancing wind resistance of sidings require additional material and labor, and can detract from the aesthetics of exterior building structure.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a different building construction material and technique for improving the insulation of building structures and improving the wind resistance of exterior sidings. There is also a need for an improved fiber cement composite insulation building material designed without the shortcomings of existing site assembled systems that incorporate foam as an insulating material.